What's the Best Phone App ?

Yep! I'm the queen of discretion! You're welcome. Originally Posted by Alexie Amor

I think I might be in love with you... well, with your sensibilities... well, more in some intense technolust... well, and also some plain old meaty lust after checking your showcase...

Talkatone used to be the best...then they took away all the features and made you pay.

Some others have awful delays in text messages.

The one that seems to still work for texting and talking is google voice unfortunately.

Haven't found an app that allows both sending and receiving pictures. Some do one only.

Appreciate all the replies. I'm going to take Alexie Amor's advice and try "cover me." Good that you advise your clients like that. Maybe I should be your client.

Use an old blackberry that has a second line and I can ditch it at any time. No worry of someone "looking" through my phone. Leave it at work, gym, or hidden in the truck. Mades it easy as I don't have as much "free hobby time" as I would like. If I had more free time I would use on phone with the cover me app.

One rule that has severed me well over the years:
Be ready to ditch all traces of hobby world and walk away any moment.

Dont you have to have a google ID and email for google voice which is then traceable to an IP address?

Dont you have to have a google ID and email for google voice which is then traceable to an IP address? Originally Posted by nk_cm2005

Yes, but if you use a burner phone, they can trace the IP addres to the phone, but they cannot trace the phone to you.

I use CoverMe which is linked to Google voice which in turn is linked to another Google voice (BTW this days you can't link one google voice to another - I did this quite long back and it still works) which is linked to my real number. I always access this google voice accounts using private VPN - which has servers outside USA and keeps no logs or records.

I hate Google voice because you can only receive picture, not send it unless you use Google Hangout.

I use Text Free Ultra. It's the first app that comes up on iPhone if you search "text free". (There are a few different versions.)

Pros:
- choose your number
- log in/out (useful if you don't want to take calls)
- free texting
- free calling (go to settings and watch some 10-20 second ads. You get 2 minutes free a piece. That goes a long way in hobbyland.)
- privacy mode so that texts don't display content when you get them.
- usually decent reception

Cons:
- reception sometimes goes to shit regardless of where you are at. (Rare) Probably due to flux in your wifi/4g connection, but figured I'd mention it
- can't add names to contacts without enabling access to your main phone's contacts

Angry Birds is pretty dang good.